Bookish by nature

HERBALISM – Grab yourself a face salad

There are only several Lush products that make my list of products that I will buy again, and again, and again, and again…

Herbalism is now on that list. I’d seen it around for a while, but I didn’t really dig it’s smell and it is a bit of a ridiculous green colour… there were better smelling cleansers out there, and much better scented ones by Lush that I already enjoyed. But, with Lush, it’s not always about the look and smell of the product that makes it an absolute must have.

A few weeks ago I grew the balls to buy a pot (£6.75 for 100g of the stuff… not a big loss if I didn’t like it), smash it on my face a few times a week and then go about my day with no one knowing that I’d momentarily looked like Elphaba that morning.

First Look:

My initial impressions of the stuff were a bit mixed. On one hand there was the smell and the green and the thickness of the stuff (unlike Let the Good Times Roll it took a lot more liquid to make it usable). A word I find a lot of people use when reviewing Lush products is “literally”… often because many of their products do literally smell of candyfloss, or chocolate orange, or strawberries… The same goes for Herbalism. It literally smells like someone has taken a handful of herbs and other garden plants, taken a pestle and mortar to those bad boys, potted it up and declared it to be a new Lush product. And, for all I know that is exactly how they come up with their new products.

But then on the other hand, the effect of the stuff was just a little bit magical. I have entirely combination skin (sometimes oily, with dry patches and then I’ll break out but still be so dry…) and very few things diminish the redness of my blemishes when I have them, but this actually did something. It got rid of a patch of dry skin I had over some blemishes on the left side of my face, and made my skin a little less irritated. A miracle!

As an exfoliant (which is what I’d call it over “cleanser), it was very gentle and not at all scratchy or drying as some exfoliators tend to be. Rather than the typical sandy/gritty texture you’d find with an exfoliator, it felt much more like the texture of an oaty exfoliator. There was definitely potential in this to be used every day, unlike most highstreet brand exfoliators. I was in love, after just one use.

Overall:

After using this at least 3 times a week for a couple of weeks, my love of this pot of green gold just grew and grew.

It’s been gentle on my sensitive skin, but exfoliating enough to get rid of any flaky patches of dead skin that I’ve had. Unlike some highstreet exfoliators, this hasn’t dried out my skin and left it irritated, which is most likely down to all the natural oils packed into it.

Prior to use I had a lot of blemishes break out on my skin, particularly on the left side of my face. Obviously it’s only been a couple of weeks since using this regularly, but I’ve seen a noticeable difference in my skin to the point where it’s clearer than it’s been for over a year! Huzzah!

The smell itself is obviously still very unusual to me, but then most Lush scents are a bit bizarre. After frequent use I’ve also noticed that it’s also not a bad smell, per se: it’s very fresh, and green and good smelling. Good as in “Damn if I ate this I’d be so healthy”. It’s the equivalent of a salad for your face. It might not look or smell the most appetising, but it is SO FRESH and so good for you.

I am now a devout follower of Herbalism, and you should be too (go on… grow some balls and pick up a tub!)

If you have any questions, or would like to get in touch, please leave a comment below or go to my contact page.